Frozen Sails
by Hamarti
Summary: Frozen pirates!au. The Princess of Arandelle nearly dies in a shipwreck with his fiancé Hans, the terrible accident caused by a gelid storm that came out of nowhere. After waking up in the sand, with countless bruises and a twisted ankle, Anna wanders around the misteryous island, realizing that is a death-hole where thiefs meet, and where Elsa, the feared pirate leader, lives.
1. Prologue

_Wow, yes, my first story, I'm a little nervous but that's okay, I guess. This is a Frozen pirate AU, yeah, I read come headcanons of this on tumblr and decided to give it a shot. Elsa will show up really soon, I promise. Hope you guys will like it, I deeply do. It's gonna have some smut later. Feel free to review!_

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_**Prologue**_

It's a splendid day in Arandelle, absolutely beautiful, it truly is. Flowers sprout, birds sing, love is in the air, citizens talk and giggle, and everyone seems to be happy and excited. Every single tree in the reign has been decorated according to the special situation, even the porches of the houses have flags with the royal crocus, and families have made special efforts in choosing the right clothing to go out.

Well, after all, is that day.  
The day when Princess Anna of Arandelle will finally get in her ship, and travel alongside her fiancé, Hans, the said most feared Southern Isles captain, younger brother of the twelve ferocious pirates that lurked the seven seas. Even though it was going to be long trip (and gods, how the King had opposed to it at first), everyone was happy for her, the young girl had been all her life willing to travel by sea.

The true meaning behind this little trip was only told to a few people. Hans had asked the King for the princess' hand, and the monarch wasn't going to let the possibility of peace between Arandelle and the pirates slip between his fingers. He had already lost her wife and so many valuable ships trying to keep them far away from his shore. He would have forced his daughter to marry the slightly trustworthy man if she didn't agree, but luckily the girl had fallen in love the same day they met.

Her fiancé had been given the title of Royal Corsair of Arandelle and Protector of The Kingdom, a new ship and a small amount of goods just for asking the filthy pirates that he called brothers for a peace promise. None of that was told to Anna.

So, according with the plan, the once brave pirate had planned to propose at midnight, when they were alone on board, bathed by the silver light of the moon, as far as possible from Arandelle. Or so he had said to Anna's father. In fact, hopefully before dawn they'd have arrived to Crocus Island, a little piece of sand with a cottage that would allow them to... talk, yes, talk properly for a few days before visiting Hans' home village for the upcoming long holidays.

The couple was going to be out for two months.

"Oh... wha... m-my god!"

It was the first thing that Anna could muster when she saw the barquentine prepared for her, Arandelle beloved princess. She nearly choked on her spit. It was the impressive size of it nor the fascinating wooden carved little hearts that decorated the ship from the mast till the tail that made her gasp in search of air. The most heart-warming detail was that she could almost touch the love that artisans had put on it, it emanated from the mahogany. They needed to receive the approbation of the young girl.

She slid her hand over the wood, entranced, almost caressing it with her fingers, when an exquisite aroma reached her nose, making her involuntarily sneeze. They had put the most fragrant flowers of Arandelle's gardens all over the deck; roses and dandelions were tangled over the mast and the sails, plus she could see even some lilacs inside the cannons.  
_'Cannons?'_ thought the strawberry blonde, confused, but as soon as she sensed how the artisans' mood decayed when she remained silent, she squealed with all her might, running to the workers and hugging every single one of them.

"Thank, thank you, thank you so much!"

The flustered group was delighted for the joy that glimmed in Anna's turquoise eyes, and slowly they began reciprocating the hugs and sharing little giggles with the princess, until her blue prince, Hans, jumped to the fjord, leaving three comrades inside his battle ship. The embarkation seemed tiny and poorly made in comparison of the one that Anna was so proud.

"Hans!" she greeted cheerfully, running into the arms of her beloved. "Look how beautiful it is! Can you- can you believe this? I love it!"

The corsair smiled stiffly before kissing Anna's nose, pulling back when she tiptoed, trying to kiss him. Hans' nose crinkled a little and his brows furrowed, almost like he was displeased, but none of the citizens said anything about it, too scared to say a thing.

"It's a nice touch, the flowers." he said, coughing as he guided the Princess away from the workers.  
"I know! I just... look all the hard work...! So many details, they even perfumed the rooms inside! And yes, it has rooms inside, with beds and cabinets! Do you think they'd put chocolate under my sheets?" Hans laughed when Anna started hyperventating, but her face abruptly turned pale. "Do you think it'll attract... p-pirates?"

The corsair smiled, but the happiness didn't reach his eyes. It never did, actually, if you looked carefully.

"Of course not, Anna. If any pirate known by my brothers attacked that ship, they would immediately be taken as their enemies. Trust me, no one wants that." a smirk tugged his lips as his eyes darkened a little. "Every single smelly pirate that I have known fears your father's navy, and they will stay away, far away. Not even once the Ice Queen has been seen near."

"A-and that means...?" asked Anna, getting a little shaky when she heard the nearly unsaid name of the mythical ship.

There was something in its title that always made the heart of the princess skip a beat, like something connected her with it. But every time she tried to remember, she felt a strong, almost paralyzing headache, and was forced to give up.

Of course she wasn't going to search stories about the legendary ship in every book in Arandelle looking for answers... thing that she totally did. As expected, it was only an old story that grandparents used to convince their children to stay in the reign and never run away looking for other lands and seeking prices, because the Ice Queen was known for destroying small boats that unknowingly went to its figurehead, equipped with blinding lights that made people lose their minds. Anna shivered.

"Means that if the true pirate's leader has ran away, so have his subjects." explained Hans, shrugging. "We have..."

"Nothing to worry about." finished the sentence the partial redhead, smiling.

"Indeed. But, well..." began his prince, clearing his throat and fixing his tie. "Then..."

They walked along the harbour, joining hands and entwining fingers. A group of girls followed them from afar, commenting on every single interaction between the cute couple, how the beautiful dress of Anna was almost as blue as her eyes, the perfect cut of the velvet bodice, how the braids made her seem even younger, and how glorious her freckles were. They even laughed a little of the corsair's way of walking, like he was always so confident of himself, even though he was wearing a suit ridiculously creamy and fancy (it almost looked like he was the bride). Well, at least he wasn't using the stupid white wig that he had to wear when he was inside the castle.

The poor guy was a dishonour for the pirates, truly.

"Then what?" the Princess questioned back dreamily, still in bliss, looking at her barquentine over her shoulder.  
"Shall we go?"  
"Go where?" Anna arched an eyebrow. "Papa said that departure time is after the feast."  
"I know what your father said." the corsair replied, sharply, and his expression softened when the girl tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "But please, Anna, look at the sky."

The Princess did as told, but couldn't follow Hans' intentions. The sky was awake and radiant, no clouds messing things up, everything was perfect. Some birds flied up in the sky, and the sunlight reflected in Anna's boat, it sparkled wonderfully. The citizens of Arandelle more than surely were going to be amazed in a couple hours, when the banquet finished.  
Her gaze went back to his prince after a while, interrogating.

"Maybe, my dear, we could... run away?" he asked, with voice soft as silk.

Anna blinked, once, twice, and tried to remember how her heart was supposed to pulse.

"Wait, r-run away?" she repeated when the words sank in. She scowled, her brows nearly touching in her forehead. "Do you want to run away with me?"  
"Yes, well n-no, I mean, we could... before the feast... I..." the corsair started blabbering, he hadn't thought too much in how he was going to convince her to do so, because from the very beginning he had planned that the girl would accept without further questioning.

No, no, no, he was messing things up. At this rate he would never claim the land of Arand...

"Of course!" she bounced around, marvelled, and grabbed Hans' epaulettes to give him a peck on the lips. "I'd love to!"

Breath in, breath out, calm yourself. The corsair put on a mischievous smile, and his facade broke for a second, showing something dark, broken. Anna couldn't see, trapped in his arms, oblivious. They stood like that for a while, until the corsair pulled back and kissed the Princess between laughs.

A mild breeze of cold air rushed between the ships, sliding with the music that the orchestra playing in Arandelle's Castle doors made. The King announced that the feast was going to start in a few minutes, and the reign remained silent.

As calm as it is before the storm.


	2. Chapter 1

_Yeeah, it's a small crossover, but it'll not be really important for the story, in case that it bothers someone . Elsa will appear soon, I swear! Oh, and I'm deeply, deeply grateful for all the reviews, follows and favorites, guys, you're all awesome! Peace out, I'll update as soon as I can :)!_

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**_Chapter One: Okay... now what?_**

"Lord have mercy!"

"Everyone, take cover!"

"Corsair, what do we do?"

"The masts are breaking!"

Anna looked in disbelief around her. What was even happening? One second she had Hans ring in her hand, next she was lying on the oak floor, surrounded by the pirates' screams. The crew members had fallen when an almost magical blast of snowstorm hit the ship, cracking the wood. The princess got up, stumbling, and fell again when another air current blew the sails, freezing the fabric at the very instant. The static cloths broke seconds later, falling like pieces of glass over the forepart of the ship. The now naked poles seemed to be okay until a draft cut them by half, and they were taken away. Anna gasped. Those things were heavy, way too heavy to be lifted only by nature's force. She was absolutely sure that the bone-chilling storm had appeared in less than a blink, coming from the east.

"Princess, Princess Anna!"

She looked up, were a man barely stood, offering her a shaky hand and a thick coat. Before she could say anything, the guy was blown away, lifted high in the air. He vanished into the shadows of the night.

Anna screamed, but she couldn't even hear her own thoughts over the wind's furious howling and the cracking of the ship. The princess was trying with all her might to stay low and safe from the blizzard, grabbing the wood planks under her with her bare hands, but gods knew how hard it was, because the whole ship seemed to have frozen. Minutes passed like hours, and the princess wasn't sure of when the first strike of air had hit them.

She forced herself down when someone grabbed her with strong hands, pulling her by the arm. Every torch that had been lighted at midnight in both ships was out, and she could barely see.

The strawberry blonde realized something, even though she wasn't supposed to be thinking about that in those moments. She was... she was fragile. Small. She wasn't strong. They were puppets carried by the wind, in the giant, giant ocean.

"H-Hans?" she asked softly, feeling like her throat had been ripped by the cold. Her mouth was dry, and her limbs trembled furiously every time the cold rushes of air reached the ship.

"I'm afraid not, your Highness."

The Princess tried to remember when she had heard that voice, or at least understand what the guy had said between the raging storm. After a while, she thought that it probably was Kai, one of her father's navy admirals, an old man deeply committed to his charge.

"Where is Hans, Kai?" the girl tried again, starting to feel weak.

How was her barquentine, most importantly? Her heart throbbed when she imagined how much damage it probably had gotten. All the hard work of the artisans...

"That doesn't matter now, princess." the man said, gently. "Gerda, I need you to come here and tell her everything while I prepare the boat!"

_'A boat?'_ the young girl furrowed her browse. Maybe they had to abandon the ship for some reason. Everything was happening with a speed that she nearly couldn't follow.

"Princess Anna." she felt a cold hand in her shoulder and flinched away, startled. A woman's voice was near now. "Excuse me, your Majesty, but I need to explain this as fast as I can."

The princess nodded, and she truly didn't know why, or if someone had seen. The wind was now somewhat diminished; more like a huge invisible wall that pushed both ships really, really fast across the sea. Gerda fell twice while she made her mind, until she finally decided to speak.

"May the gods save the Ice Queen. We good hearts have always been protected by the sea entities." she muttered to herself, and the blizzard seemed to stop. The woman took it as a chance to look at Anna, even though the girl couldn't find her eyes hidden by the darkness. "Princess, this will be surely rough to hear, but I beg you to keep in mind all the years that we have dedicated our lives to your Majesty the King. We would never try to harm his daughter in any way..."

Gerda hesitated, doubting what to say next.

"Continue, please." the princess begged, starting to tremble in her spot, and it wasn't only for the coldness in the air.

"Hurry up! The rats are getting closer!" they heard Kai's muffled voice coming from afar.

Anna raised an eyebrow. What on earth was going on? What was wrong with the sudden storm? Maybe the gods weren't approving her marriage with...?

"My lady, the Royal Corsair had planned to do this from the very beginning."

"The Royal... you mean Hans?" she asked, and sensed how Gerda nodded. That explained something, but there was something that she didn't know yet. "Had planned what?"

"I beg you, princess, remember what I told you. I owe my life to you father and so does Kai; we would never betray him..."

"I understand, and I beg you to explain me, Gerda." she hurried the woman, hugging her sides, trying to keep the heat inside her body, but she was wearing the stupid thin dress that Hans said he liked.

"The Protector of the Kingdom is trying to kill you, milady." the woman interrupted herself, and after some seconds resumed her words. "This was on his mind from the start, when your Majesty captured him in Arandelle's waters."

"Wh... what?" she swallowed, confused.

"We heard him talking with his comrades at the bay, and he said that he was going to kill you in the sea, the sooner the better. He wasn't even going to propose, but he had because we were here." Gerda's voice trembled, but she didn't stop. "After concluding the first part of his plan, he would flee to the Southern Islands, where he was going to ask his father to lend him some ships, the whole navy if possible. He would return to the kingdom alone in your barquentine, carrying your dead body, and would wait until they set a date for the funeral. In the chosen day, the Southern Islands would attack Arandelle and conquer it."

Anna wasn't capable of muttering a word, not even sob. Because, for gods' sake, how was she supposed to react? Her knees trembled, because while they talked the temperature had dropped really fast, just like their possibilities of surviving against the storm. Most of the crew members had been thrown off board by now and were probably dead, frozen.

Gerda paused for another minute; waiting for either comments or reprimands from the princess, but the disconcerted girl was still putting things together in her head. She didn't know if she was supposed to trust her father's officers or her own feelings. Of course Hans wouldn't that, would he? No, no.

"Your boat is ready, milady!" said the sailor, appearing from the side. His face was covered in sweat; it had been something hard to do alone.

"Wait a second, Kai." said the older woman, worried. "She doesn't believe what I'm saying."

"We don't have time to make her believe, but milady, if you doubt us, you will have to search for information by yourself, pirates are rather friendly if you are educated. I wouldn't recommend you to return to Arandelle for a while, princess."

"Why?"

"Hans will be there. And probably..."

Gerda was interrupted when an arrow pierced her shoulder. Kai's breath catch on his trachea. Another one struck her right in her chest. The woman fell to the ground, silently. A warm spatter had landed right in Anna's cheek, and she brushed her hand over it. It was blood.

"You filthy traitors!" the princess jumped. It was Hans shouting somewhere. He sounded furious, almost like he was going to explode at any second. "Quick, grab those pigs! They are trying to kill Anna!"

The strawberry blonde was lifted in the air, and she wasn't sure if it was the air or Kai's arms. Everything stopped for a second. The girl waved her hands around, trying to grab something, anything.

"The servants are using witchcraft!"

And that she knew she was flying. Or at least it seemed like it, with the wind striking her face like a knife. The princess had been thrown off board. But if a lifeboat had been there before, it wasn't even near Anna when she got to the water.

Even though she had learned in Arandelle's lake how to swim when she was younger, imitating somehow the ducklings that lived near the castle, she didn't remember now. This was something completely new; the waves of the sea were so big that even if she tried to swim the water pulled her down, her dress was heavy.

For the first time in her life, the princess could say that she felt fear. True fear. It was like she had little rocks inside of her, some of them so thick that stopped the pulse in her veins for seconds, as all the oxygen in her lungs disappeared. She opened her mouth, trying to shout for help, help from any person that could give it to her, Hans, Kai, the pirates, Ice Queen's crew, anyone capable of getting her out of the ocean. The water was so cold that if felt like frozen stings pinched every inch of her body. And Anna's world went blank.

"Run, you need to leave!"

A foreign voice entered her mind. It was soft, warm, and even though it was full of concern, she could hear the love behind it, trapped in the throat and guts of the speaker, like she, it definitely was a she, was trying to protect her from something. She tried to move the gears in her head, remember when she had heard the girl before. In Arandelle's market? One of the servants, maybe?

"Don't tell papa! Not even mama, Anna!"

The first sentence had some sense, but now she simply didn't know. Anna repeated the last words in her mind, many times. Was that some kind of funky dream before she died? But anyway, who was this girl with the shaky voice talking to her so freely, not even putting princess before her name?

"Anna, **please!"**

In a weird way she sensed how the waves moved around her body, spinning and spinning endlessly, like she was dancing. Now the princess didn't even need to breathe, with her respiratory system being full of water. Something was pressing her head, dangerously carrying her down, but someone's hands, with long and cold fingers, were pulling her body up, to the light. She was dead already, probably.

Hours passed before she heard the voice again, this time mixed with her father's. It hit her like a brick.

"Anna, you **need** to wake up!"

She did, slow but surely. At first she didn't feel her arms because of the cold, but minutes later she realized that something was covering her, some kind of fluffy sheets. Everything hurt, and it was difficult to inhale trough her nose.

Suddenly she felt something warm and sticky running across her cheek. What was it? The princess managed to flutter an eye open, reluctantly, because of the brightness of the sun over her head. She squeezed them shut, growling.

_'Hang on, the sun?'_ she tried to raise her upper body but something cracked when she did. The princess cried out, and heard a bark besides her.

The animal licked her across the forehead this time with its raspy tongue. Grossed out, she opened her eyes, placing a hand over her eyes so the sun wouldn't annoy, and to prevent any other licks.

Anna adjusted her eyes to the light, and flinched away when she found a huge dog staring at her. The animal was gigantic, with its tongue peeking between its' sharp teeth, but it was dripping wet and seemed scared.

She didn't think much before petting the beast under its chin, smiling.

Anna tried to say something to soothe the canine but coughed instead, burping out all the remaining water in her lungs. The dog looked at the princess, worried. Her head felt like a gods' forsaken anchor, she wasn't capable of even lifting her neck, but turned around so she wouldn't choke. After a while with the convulsion attack, nearly coughing a lung, her throat felt so dry that she ended up puking all the water in her stomach too.

It took a while to recover and the dog licked her hand all the time, trying to help somehow.

"A-are you okay, doggie?" she asked softly, running her fingers over the dog's big ears.

The animal nodded, like he understood what the princess had said. This would have probably scared anyone, but not her.

The girl had lived all her life trying not to disturb her parents with their royal stuff, and since she was five, Anna had to stay trapped inside the castle. Outside were the pirates, the wars, the hunger and the poverty, and the King wasn't going to let her girl, with such a good heart, worry about the people outside. Those were harsh days for a girl to face alone, so she began talking to the paintings in the halls, she told her secrets to the birds, joked with flowers, and discussed about politics with stray cats. She wasn't impressed by the dog's abnormal behaviour.

"It'll be okay, buddy, I promise. We only have to... we only have to find shelter." the dog's ears sticked to his skull, and Anna caressed his back this time. "There's nothing to worry about, doggie. Maybe we can get some hot cocoa after, how does that sound?"

The animal wiggled his tail and jumped around the princess. The girl grabbed the dog's collar, and tried to read what it said.

"Oh, so you're Sven." she raised her head a little and looked around. "Where's your owner, puppy?"

Okay, so this was a land completely new to her. Everything seemed dirty, even the sand under her body and the little waves that splashed her feet from time to time. It smelled nasty, like someone had... like someone's bathroom.

"We need to move, Sven. Water will rise sooner or later." the Princess tried to get up. Her legs were sore, and if she tried to flex them a flush of pain ran through her muscles. But Anna needed to move, she knew, or she was going to die from hypothermia at night.

After some failed attempts, the girl realized that probably something was broken in her left foot's ankle. The dog looked at her, concerned, but Anna shook her head, sighing.

"It's no good. But don't worry, I'm sure that if I try again, I'll..."

"Sven!" Anna jumped, scared by sudden scream. "Sven, where are you?!"

"He's here!" the princess replied, not even thinking of the consequences that it was going to carry. "Sven is here!"

She tried to find the owner of the manly voice, and after some time she finally saw a man running towards her at full speed. The blonde guy was wrapped in the most ripped and filthy looking clothes that Anna had ever seen in her life. A somewhat stained beanie hung over his head, and he carried in his loose belt something that looked like a sword covered in mud. She could hardly tell if he was wearing shoes, with his big feet all black and calloused. But still, the guy was running breathless with a huge smile all over his face... and were those happiness tears running down his cheeks?

"Sven!" he called the dog, which ran towards him. The buff man hugged the animal when they reunited, petting its head. "Gods, I was really worried about you, silly dog!"

Ignoring the scene, Anna crawled, trying to get as far of the sea as she could, and ended up under a palm tree with her hands peeled. Oh, how she'd have loved to take a nap.

"Th' poor girl nearly drowned 'cause ye took so much time decidin' to show up!" the blonde said with a weird unstable voice, but when Anna looked at him, he relaxed his elbows and continued with the voice that she had heard at the beginning. "Wasn't my fault, Sven. I woke up like a hundred miles away, and after all.. she seems okay. Here, tiny, catch."

The bottle nearly hit Anna in the head, but as soon as she felt the coldness of the container in her fingers, without saying a word, the princess drank all of it, choking from time to time. She didn't really care about it, because there was no servant around. The blonde watched her in awe, the enormous dog too.

"That was all the water we had..." he breathed out after she finished it, and took the empty bottle from the Princess' hands.

Anna froze in the place, and after a pause raised her hands, red as a tomato.

"I-I'm so sorry!" she apologized, nervous, even though her throat itched like she had eaten a chilli. "I really, really didn't meant to drink it all! But it was cold, and my throat is burning, and I'm still thirsty, and I...! Sorry, I couldn't help it!"

The dog barked, as close to a laugh as it could have been. Anna raised a brow looking at its giant nose, and then looked up to the guy, who was chuckling all along.

"No prob, fancy dress." a huge grin appeared in his face as he accommodated his beanie over his greasy looking hair, pointing with a dirty nail behind her. "We'll have to grab your cocon... I m-mean, the coconuts hanging in that palm tree that you're laid against."

"Oh. Okay, I see." she nodded, and moved aside, still embarrassed.

The guy unsheathed his sword and with a quick and decided strike hit the palm. The dog raised his ears and bounced around. Two or three coconuts fell, and Anna clapped, admired.

"What's your name?" he asked striking again, and another bunch of fruits fell. Anna was focused on a coconut, trying to open it with a tiny stone that she found lying around. "Mine's Kristoff, the puppy is Sven, I think you know that. We're pirates." he said, according to the only rule that he followed, once you met someone, you had to present yourself.

"P-pirates...?" the princess looked up when Kristoff hit the tree, and one of the coconuts landed right on her head.

She passed out before the pirate could do anything.

The girl hoped that she wasn't going to wake up soon. Joining ideas in her pained head, she thought that maybe, only maybe, she could have been dragged across the sea all the night and half a day. So she probably was close to... something? The current of the sea had moved her around so much that it made impossible for the girl to position herself. Before the sudden darkness caused by the coconut, she was sure she saw the sun. So, okay, it was there, as supposed, and that meant that Arandelle was... somewhere, diagonally positioned with the Southern Islands. So, where were the named islands supposed to be? Right, at south, duh. Now, where was the south?

She mentally slapped herself for not paying attention in her star positioning classes.

After a while regaining strength, she finally opened her eyes. The moon was up in the sky, and some fire stirred near her. She was covered in clothes that truly smelled horrible, like dogs fur. Oh, right, she also had the giant dog over her.

"You awake, honey?" she heard the pirate say using the stern voice.

"You bet I am." she growled, slowly sitting again. "Thanks for the concussion, by the way..."

It was pitch dark, and she couldn't help but embrace the covers that the blonde guy had put over her shoulders. The princess scooted closer to the fire and warmed her hands.

"Yeah... sorry about that." the blonde chuckled awkwardly, rubbing his nose. "Seems like you have a hard skull."

"Yup, and you nearly broke it." she half-smiled.

Anna tilted her head. Were on earth had the waters led her to? She looked at the surroundings. The princess nearly started crying when she realized that her ship was nowhere to be seen. Not even pieces of it were around. That was weird.

"Where are we?" she asked softly, closing her eyes and trying to focus.

"Not even an idea." the man offered her an open coconut with a sheepish smile. "This one hit you. Take revenge."

Anna looked at the coconut, then at him, and shrugged. That guy seemed more like a teddy bear than a pirate. She drank the whole thing and the other three that Kristoff gave her.

"Shipwreck, huh?" he commented after the girl ate some pieces bread. Anna choke on the coconut's milk that she was currently drinking.

"Y-yeah..." she sighed, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. Her clothes had dried, but she was still cold. Gods, what a terrible trip it was until now.

"I'm sorry, fancy dress."

Anna tried to collect herself, and barely did after a while, petting Sven's furry head.

"Still no clue of where we are?" the girl asked, with a voice that sounded way to tired considering that she had been unconscious for six hours.

"No. The damned Ice Queen's blizzard hit us good" Kristoff said, giving a stiff smile.

"Ice Queen's... blizzard?" she repeated, slowly, carefully, remembering that Gerda had said something about that.

"Yeah, didn't you notice?"

"Well, my ship was probably destroyed by some weird magic that sent the whole crew flying, so, if someone noticed, it was me." she laughed a little and grabbed her head after, because things began spinning around.

"It was wonderful." the pirate said, smiling as the fire stirred.

"What?" Anna felt rage gripping her stomach, but successfully hid it. "All the people that died?"

"No, no, I didn't mean that!" the pirate nearly screamed, shaking his head. "I was talking about the swirl that the snowflakes did in the air! It was almost like someone was moving them around! It... it was marvellous if you had the time to look at them."

Anna sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. Sven was sleeping at her side, and probably having some kind of hunting dream, because he moved his legs around, clawing at the air.

"Sorry. I'm having a hard day."

"We're all having a terrible day, fancy dress."

"You said the storm was made by Ice Queen?" she asked after an awkward pause, when they didn't know what to say. "How could a ship have done all of... that?"

"Duh, the Ice Queen is made with magic." the blonde guy rolled his eyes like it was the most obvious thing ever. "The sea gets cold and fish swim away, it's bad for the business. Pirates say that when the Ice Queen is near, it'll start snowing."

"I see..." Anna felt a sting in her head, and coughed.

"But if the Captain decides to go somewhere, the Ice Queen's blizzard will clean its path." Kristoff ate a slice of bread. "Some pirates say it's like a never ending torture for the crew, knowing that anywhere they go they'll only bring despair."

The princess swallowed, hard.

"It's like a curse."

"It is a curse, indeed." the pirate nodded. "Every crew member is cursed, and every person that decides to stand on its ice carved deck will be too."

"H-how?" now Anna was just curious, even though her head hurt like hell. She could bear that. It was like all the information that she'd wanted to know all her life was being carefully explained to her.

"It'll freeze your heart permanently." the blonde said, and had to continue because of the inquisitive look that the girl gave him. "You kind of... never get old? A friend of mine told me once that the grandfather of a friend of his sister's second grade cousin knew a guy of the crew, a kid named Olvia or something like that. After almost thirteen years without the Ice Queen appearing, the ship showed in his homeland. He saw his friend on the deck, as fresh as a rose, jumping around and fixing the sails."

The princess blinked, amazed, confused, and beginning to feel dizzy.

"So they never leave the boat?" she asked.

"No, that's just stupid." the guy laughed, but Anna didn't really care, she was learning. "They can, but if the Captain's gone for too long, the ship will melt eventually, and they'll all die but the Captain."

"That's..." Anna looked for the words, but she didn't find them. "That's terrible."

"Stupid tales old woman tell. The Ice Queen was lastly seen lurking Southern Islands' waters, and it was almost fifteen years ago." Kristoff shrugged. "Maybe the Captain got sick and died, and everyone else did. Who knows?"

The Princess looked at the sky.

"Oh my god..."

"It's not that terrible, anyway." he laughed, extending his cold arms in front of the fire, trembling.

"Holy sh...!"

"Wow, wow, they're just stories, tiny, there's no need to swear."

"Look up the sky, Kristoff!"

The blonde did, and found some weird looking lights glimmering up at the other side of the sea. They weren't stars, that was for sure, they moved around, guided by breezes of wind. What on earth was that?

"That's Corona!" shouted the princess, pointing at the peculiar lights.

"Corona?"

"Yes, it's Rapunzel's birthday!" her body shivered when a really cold wave of air got to them, but the faith remained inside.

"Oh, no, not the fire." Kristoff growled, grabbing some branches and throwing them inside of the burning centre. After doing so, he looked back at the princess. "Rapun... what?"

"Thinking about it, papa said that he was coming to the party, but-" she arched an eyebrow. The party was weeks away when she left from the harbour with...

"Hans!" her voice broke, feeling guilty for not thinking about him early.

"Hans?" Kristoff was deeply puzzled, understanding half of anything that Anna said.

"Oh my god, what happened to my Hans?"

"Your...? Okay, okay, time out, puffy cheeks, I'm not following you." he shook his head. "Those lights are coming from where?"

"The kingdom of Corona."

"And who's this..." Kristoff waved a hand around, trying to remember the name. "Reaping-shelf girl?"

"Rapunzel. She's a princess, the daughter of a royal family too."

"Too?"

"Yeah, too" the strawberry blonde was starting to think that the pirate had hit his head with a rock or something when the Ice Queen's blizzard had started.

"So... who are you?"

"I'm Anna, Princess of Arandelle..." the guy let a loud _´huh?´,_ and Anna looked down at her scraped and dirty dress, frowning. "Well, I don't look very regal right now..."

"No, no, you are fine, but I haven't heard about you in my life."

"R-really?" Anna was the one confused right now, maybe a little offended.

"Yup, would remember." the blonde looked at Anna for a second, and when their eyes met he snickered. "Surely would."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" she pouted.

"Nothing. But well, now that you are fine, I guess I can continue with my journey." he relaxed his shoulders and got up. "You'll be fine with the coconuts; I'll be on my way."

"What?" she was surprised, deeply surprised, but tried to keep her face cool. Maybe if she gained some time she could think of a plan... "In which ship you are travelling?"

"A tiny one." he said, rubbing his nose with the back of his hand before pointing somewhere in the dark. "I carried you while you slept, you haven't noticed yet because it's dark. It's over there."

Anna found the said boat under the moonlight. It was ridiculously small and seemed broken, the only two sails that it had were barely bigger than a towel.

"Do you seriously think that you'll get somewhere with that garba... boat, if the Ice Queen's blizzard strikes again?"

"I will, of course." he seemed slightly hurt. "We just have to be careful, that's all. If the wind doesn't blow Sven away, then I'm fine."

"If you can help me get to Corona, I'll ask my father to give you a brand new boat." she said without second thoughts.

Kristoff took some time to think about the proposal, but shook his head negatively after the proper considering.

"Don't wanna."

"Why not?" Anna seemed desperate, and she was. Even though she wasn't going to admit that to herself, deep inside, she knew that surviving alone was not an option. "You could even choose the wood, the colours..."

"Don't feel like having my own crew. I can't order people around, it's tiring."

"Then you'd rather being ordered around?"

"No." he replied, serious. "I don't like being with other pirates. They lie, steal, and betray. After certain situations, I've learnt that dogs are better than them. I like my small boat, I can travel freely and sell fish everywhere I want, and anytime I feel like it."

"That's the same with a pretty new boat, and you don't need your crew." she had to use in that moment some of that negotiator blood that her ran in her veins. "I bet our carpenters can even carve a house for Sven."

The blonde guy raised an eyebrow, now interested in the deal. He considered her words for some seconds before nodding softly.

"It will be freely given to me by the King?"

"Sure." Kristoff thought that the exaggerated nod that the girl gave, how she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and looked away was beyond suspicious, but he grinned to himself, amused. "No charges, I'm sure papa won't mind. Maybe we can catch him if we get to Corona at time, y-you know."

"Okay. I'll help you." he adjusted his beanie, and offered his hand to the princess right after spitting on it.

The girl looked at his palm and understood.

"Gross, gross, gross." she whispered between teeth before imitating him. They shook hands, both not convinced, at all, of the other's promise.

"But if you are lying, I will have no other solution than abandoning you in some lonely island." he said, hiding his smile. "Or cutting your neck. Maybe both."

Anna gulped loudly and wiped her hand in the ragged velvet of her dress.

"Of c-course. I wouldn't lie about that."

"Then let's go."

"What?" the princess looked around. "It's dark... and we don't have anything to protect ourselves with!"

Kristoff scratched his neck lazily, yawning.

"Yeah, maybe you're right. Tomorrow we'll have to look around. I bet there are some friendly pirates waiting for us hidden in the bushes." he faked not seeing the shiver in Anna's body and continued. "You'll need to recharge energy from sleep, though, we're out of water."

"Sorry again." said the princess, quickly laying back. "Wake me when you feel tired." Sven accommodated himself between Anna's arms.

"What? You slept the whole day!"

The girl faked a snore, and Kristoff couldn't do anything but laugh. He lay against a fallen tree, and lowered his beanie a little; he was going to take nap too, maybe later.

He stared for a while at the beautiful floating lights, really far away from them, when a tiny snowflake landed in the pirate's nose. He grabbed the tiny nature's masterpiece with his finger and it melted in a second. Another fell in his elbow. Then other over his beanie. And after that, a lot more all over the place.

He looked up the sky and a shiver went down his spine. It was snowing in the middle of the summer.


	3. Chapter 2

Ah, I'm so sorry guys for the long hiatus! I had a family trip and we went to a lake that had no wi-fi... I'll update the other chapters asap. Thanks for the support, your reviews and favorites! So, all things said, let's move to the story...

**Chapter Two: Aren't you alone here?**

This was going to be one of those days, Olaf knew it. But goddamn, they weren't prepared at all. Even though he had searched everywhere for bottles of rum, asking carefully each crew member on board and offering goods in change, no one had alcohol. He was glad, Elsa apart, because they had followed the rule of no alcohol.

Shivering a little, the boy hid a box of chocolates under his shrivelled vest, walking towards the Captain's chambers. Maybe this time Marcello would let him pass.

Fixing his white hair to the side, he sprinted across the corridors of the huge ship, slipping once or twice. The young boy slid his hand between the cracks of the frost that covered the Ice Queen's walls as he ran, tracing the familiar snowflake patterns with his fingers. The dim bluish light that the hanging lanterns emanated seemed to reflect on the icy fractals, it felt like he was in a dream. And the new azure rug (frozen by the moment) was definitely something fun that he had to check later.

For someone who spent most of his time in the upper part of the ship, the beautifulness of the chambers could be easily forgotten.

After a while running and many times stopping to admire the paintings that adorned the lonely corridors, he finally reached his goal, panting and breathless.

"I really need to get in shape" he remembered himself softly, trying to recompose by walking in circles.

"Ahoy. Whaddaya want, lad?"

Olaf let out a yelp and jumped back, startled by the rough voice that welcomed him. Sitting in a chair in front of the bedroom doors was Marcello. Pointing his blue sword at him. Great.

"Oh, hello, Marce!" he greeted, performing a curtsy and looking over his shoulder. He had no one near. Okay, okay, no problem. "Aren't you alone here all by yourself?"

The young pirate waited for a response that never came. Sweating, he tried to continue normally, voice trembling.

"Is it a little cold here or it's just us?" he tried to joke and laughed a little, but Marcello was as serious as ever "Get it? Because we're fro... n-never mind... Well, I brought some chocolates for the Captain..."

His breath* catch on his throat when the older pirate stood up. He was huge, the tallest man in the crew. Maybe being short was not so good after all, thought Olaf, worried. Marcello snatched the chocolate box in his hands and smelled it, suspicious. After examining the gift, he nodded.

"'kay. Now go away."

Olaf blinked once. Twice.

"W-what? I..." his voice cracked when the buff man drawed his sword.

"T' Capn' wants t' be alone, an' she'll be."

"But I thought that... Okay, you know, I have other box in my trunk, and if you let me pass I could..." he began, wiggling his eyebrows, but Marcello growled harshly "Okay, okay, there's no need to get mad. At least do you know if she's okay?" he dropped with worry the corners of his mouth.

Silence filled the corridor, and Marcello inhaled sharply through his nose, annoyed by the constant tapping that Olaf did with his feet.

Every time they chose a destination the Captain would do that, shut herself up in her chambers and wait in absolute isolation until they got to wherever they wanted to go. The first months in the ship were okay for Olaf, spending his meals with the Captain, moments where he chat with the young woman about so many things that it was hard to remember now. The only thing that remained in his mind (lightly, though), was a vague back story that she shared with his crew. She was some kind of royal in a faraway land, which had to run away because of reasons, the end. No one knew why she owned the sublime battleship, or why the pirates had chosen her as their ruler.

Now, after some rather strong verbal fights with her crewmates, the Captain was hardly ever seen outside. Marcello, the Quartermaster, was left in representation of Elsa, and he controlled the crew by himself, sometimes with Olaf's help, the bosun.

There was that time where Olaf had been voted to be the guard outside the door, and the nights that he stayed there he heard horrible things. The young woman would cry herself to sleep, without drinking anything but rum, loads of rum; as much as she needed to suppress the raging screams in her head, acussating the poor girl for the wreck that her ship would always leave behind, every death that it caused and would cause in the future, every harbour that her powers froze.

In that very moment, when they were heading to Frost Valley for an important meeting with other relevant pirate Captains, their leader prohibited anyone near the entrance of her chambers. Two weeks of trip had already passed and the cooks were worried sick for her, saying that the girl ate her meals just once or twice.

"She be our Capn', o' course she be 'kay." came the late reply from the pirate, that looked away when the kid tried to make visual contact.

Olaf sighed. He wasn't getting anywhere with Marcello, that was for sure. And of course, he wasn't physically capable of pushing the tremendous guy to the side and check Elsa by himself. But he needed to do something, right? Elsa always helped him back at his first days by the sea, and if she was the one in need of help now, he was going to be there.

With something that felt like a plan, he leaned against the cold wall behind him, and sat on the floor.

"Didn't ye hear me, lad?" growled the guard, raising a thick, white eyebrow.

"I'll wait here. I'm sure she'll come outside someday... right?" the boy looked up to Marcello, but he didn't answer either. A smile appeared in Olaf's face as he remembered something "After all, today we'll arrive to Frost Valley for the meeting with Weasel..."

"Lad, ye better-"

"... and the Captain herself said that I'll pick her clothes. Maybe when we get there we'll have to go shopping! We can buy some blue, red, or purple coats for her, something cute like that, right? Oh, and some new jewellery too!

Marcello could only roll his eyes and sit on his chair as Olaf rambled.

"Why do we have so much money, anyway? We can buy a whole new ship and decorate it as much as we want! I'd be the decorator of course, because please, I'm the only one on board with some sense of fashion. I mean, look at y..."

Probably if he had finished the sentence, things would've been bad for him, but a heartbreaking scream coming from the chambers took both of their breaths away, saving the kid from a punch in the face.

A loud cry followed, and seconds after they heard glass breaking.

Was that the Captain? What in earth had gotten to her?

Olaf recovered faster than Marcello and tried to enter the room, running to help her, but was quickly contained by the older pirate.

"Go away I said, lad!"

And Olaf was thrown nearly to the other side of the corridor, landing painfully on his wrist. At first he felt something softly burning inside, but no, seconds later it really, really hurt. His eyes even watered a little. When the boy checked his arm, he realized that it wasn't supposed to bend like that.

Marcello gulped.

"Go t'..." the man began, but his voice cracked when another scream tingled, ragged with grief. The tall man sighed, clearly troubled with his intentions. "Go t' do yer work smartly, before Elsa blows yer sorry ass off board."

"We have to help her!" he said, silent tears rolling down his cheeks "Didn't you hear that? Maybe she's ill o-or something!"

"She's not."

"If you weren't there covering the door, I'd have sworn that someone is killing her right now!" he continued, with a silent sob.

"She be okay, I said. Now leave, she'll heal yer arm later."

"A-And what if she's hurting herself? Maybe she has problems with-"

"Some things are better fought alone, lad!" Marcello barked, furious "Now go snatch something from th' kitchen, and take care of yer wrist!"

The teen got up slowly. Now the screaming had stopped, but as he got closer to the doors, he heard sobs and hiccups coming from inside.

"I'll give th' chocolates t' the Capn', if ye want it that-"

"Avast!" they heard the voice of some sailor coming down the stairs that led to the deck. "Ship on sight!"

Marcello jumped in his chair, but did nothing else. He had to stay there.

"Ship... what?" Olaf took two seconds to process the words and quickly ran away, forgetting for a moment about his Captain and his twisted arm.

Once he got outside he had to cover his eyes, the swirling snow hitting his face like small rocks. After his first year living in the ship (that could be easily compared to live inside an iceberg), he had grown immune to the cold, and his skin had turned almost as white as his hair, the same phenomenon occurring with all his crewmates. Some kind of funky magic or something weird like that, they didn't know, but it sure was useful for a group of people living in a frozen ship.

After walking half blind for a while across the deck, he found the sailing master. The young man was looking though his spyglass.

"Ye see the lil' ship thar, Olaf?" the man asked, laughing, with thick, strong accent.

It was the first ship that crossed paths with them in months. It had to be a really strong one, thought the kid, as just a few embarkations resisted the Ice Queen's storm. Sadly, he couldn't see that far.

"I can't! How does it look? You see people on board?"

"'s a beauty, but's not movin'..." the man grabbed his hat when it floated away with a blast of wind "Rich land lubbers be hidin' in the cabins, aye, bet my grog."

"Anything else?" the kid bounced in his spot, starting to feel nervous. Maybe they were in problems, and needed help.  
"Scurvy dogs!" the pirate laughed when the storm suddenly stopped, snowflakes falling to the ground and sea instantly, like someone ordered them to. Only once or twice they had seen that too.

"Damned flowers be everywhere!" someone shouted by the cabins.

Olaf could believe neither that the blizzard had stopped nor that the ship was in perfect state, floating silently just a few meters away from them. The pain in his wrist was now long forgotten.

If the ship hadn't stopped moving, they would have probably crashed with the beautiful little barquentine.

"Which country has that flag?" Olaf furrowed his eyebrows, and before the sailing master could answer, he remembered "Arandelle flag, right?"

"Aye, but where's th' crew?"

They heard footsteps coming behind them.

"There's no one inside, of course. This damned blizzard kills anyone near, and the poor people that travelled in that barquentine are probably by the depths of the sea in this moment." a blonde man stood beside them, caressing his moustache.

"Ye shut yer mouth, bilge rat. Why don't ye go check inside? The plank's over thar."

"Do it for the crew, surgeon, aye?"

Every pirate on board clapped, somehow they had all reunited in the deck. Some of them started whistling and throwing things at him, so the tall man took a long breath and walked towards the said plank, and in one quick movement, he got to the end of it. Just one jump and he would land in the barquentine.

"Land in sight, fellas, we've arrived to Frost Valley! We're home!"

The poor man stumbled in his feet and fell, luckily inside the small ship. Olaf let out a gasp. He wanted to see how the surgeon would do in this situation. Before anything could happen, Marcello stormed out of the chambers.

"Summers, Poppy, Olson and Patch will check that garbage, steal anything with value they have! I want two navigators there, too! Everyone else, go back to yer works! That ship will be anchored in the castle harbour by midnight, did ye hear, ye bilge rats?"

And with those simple words, the whole crew went back to their chores. Olaf stayed in his place though, staring marvelled at the barquentine.

After a while doubting, Marcello finally touched his shoulder.

"What's wrong?"

"Elsa said thanks. She'll be waiting for us, too."

"Waiting for us?"

"Ain't we gonna go shopping, lad?" the buff pirate looked away when Olaf smiled at him "You'll have t' hurry, though. She said anything will be okay."

"Anything will be okay? That sounds like she's hopeless!" Olaf raised his nearly nonexistent eyebrows, excited "We'll buy the best clothing she'll ever dream to have, Marce, even if it means cutting my wrist in half!"

"Whatever." Marcello chuckled "Just don't spend all our booty."


	4. Chapter 3

**_Chapter Three: Just face it._**

"You'll be okay, Elsa, there's nothing to worry about. It's just a presentation... with pirates, friendly pirates. You've practiced what you have to say almost a hundred times by now. Breathe. Just... breathe."

The captain of the Ice Queen gulped audibly, her throat burning as she did. Maybe the words had sounded right in her head, but as her voice echoed in the empty bedroom, the young woman understood that her tone implied all the alcohol she had drank (hidden under her blankets, against the rule that she had made).

Pressing slender fingers against her temple, she tried again.

"It's only for today. It will be easy... as pie, I imagine."

Now her voice was somewhat confident, even though she couldn't quite pronounce the 'r' correctly. Still not convinced, she repeated the exact same words for a while, until her mouth was completely dry and anything she said had a weird raspy sound accompanying it. Elsa huffed.

"Positive, you already messed that up. Perhaps they won't mind if you look relatively nice, Elsa, and you know how to do that, at least."

Some shouts that she hadn't heard before rang in her ears. The young girl had been too focused hiding the remaining full bottles in her desk, screaming after when one of them fell, shattering in a hundred pieces right in front of her nose. The sobs that followed after nearly shook her to the core. Gods, she was such a mess, crying over a damned bottle of rum.

As she got up, a sudden urge to stop the ship gripped her gut. Things seemed to spin around, and gods be damned, she hardly remembered how she was supposed to walk. Sensing how the waves moved her ship around, she walked where her wardrobe was supposed to be, extending her arms in front of her, trying not to spin around too much.

"Found you." she mumbled contently after grabbing the wardrobe ice handles.

The smell that her pyjamas exuded was clearly beyond gross. She had spent her latest weeks using only her night dress, and a smile curved her lips when she found just what she was looking for; a loose shirt that she had initially made for Olaf. After trying it herself, scared that she would freeze him or something, she thought that it was going to be huge for the boy's small body, and erm... it was just a little bit big for her. The blue peasant shirt was so cozy that she kept it and made a vest for the kid instead.

She discarded the night dress to the side and picked the loose blue shirt, some purple breaches that Olaf had bought somewhere, and a pair of simple chore boots.

Elsa had planned something. Lately, the Ice Queen's captain had found herself deeply interested in the daily pirate life, studying until her head hurt and her eyes were sore, trying to regularly use words of their vocabulary, mimic their expressions, and use their manners. After all, she was the pirate ruler, she had to get used to their culture... _her_ culture. Elsa desired to at least try once how it was to truly live like a pirate.

Some vacations in Frost Valley would help her loosing up, spend time with her crew again, meet other Captains, and maybe visit the library if she had free time. Yes.

So she was going to hide her ship in her castle's harbour, and sleep on it at night. Maybe, with Olaf's help she would look like a normal, dirty, simple pirate, without the fear of rejection that constantly followed her when she said that she owned the cursed ship, after all.

Someone knocked her door weakly.

"Capn'?"

The young woman took a deep breath, trying to steady her voice. Her quartermaster had heard her years before when she was really drunk, and now she really didn't want him to know that she had been drinking against his consent.

"Yes, Marcello? I did not expect to see you soon." Elsa ran a shaky hand over her locks, and with a little luck the pirate would think the grogginess in her voice was annoyance.

"I'll be leaving now, just had to tell ye that we're in th' castle harbour, m'lady. Olaf and I will be in th' town for a while, as me said before... Erik's in charge."

"G-good. Have a great time, you two." the young woman bit her nails, and as soon as the heard footsteps leaving, she got up. No, she wasn't going to mess this up. Too many times she had run away already. She had to know her people. They had to know her. "Marcello!"

"Yes, Capn'?"

Elsa found herself in front of her quartermaster, which looked profusely confused, jaw hanging, eyes full open. Good gods. She was out of her chambers, finally.

"I will-" she choked in her own spit, and quickly covered her mouth with a gloved hand, surprised.

Marcello was shocked. Just what...? She had been drinking? And what was she wearing? The Ice Queen's captain had never been one to raise her voice.

"I will g-go with you... if that's not an inconvenience, of course. I would like to take some fresh air." she muttered, a wild blush tainting her cheeks. She never stuttered. It seemed like the captain was going to break some of her behaviour rules, surprisingly.

Under the piercing stare of Marcello, the girl began feeling self-conscious, and hugged her torso tightly. Maybe a peasant shirt was too much? Or her braid looked messy?

But her quartermaster couldn't agree more with the proposition, nodding as a jubilant smile spread across his face.

"Our pleasure, m'lady."

Okay, maybe this wasn't going to be that bad. Elsa felt a numbing confidence run through her veins when she walked out of her chambers, receiving cheers from her whole crew members. It was like she never left.

The revitalizing air of Frost Valley sent shivers down her spine. This was her home. She _belonged_ here. The memories of other places drifted from her mind, rather painfully, just like the names of person that she had met before being named captain.

But as soon as she was off board, walking in her palace's gardens, it was like she had never been there before. Had she? Of course, even though it seemed like no one had visited the lonely corridors (and even lonelier flowers) of the captain's park in years. It was snowing softly, a light blanket covering the green of the mountains that surrounded the area.

Straightening shoulders, she continued wandering around the castle; walking up stairs, hiding in frozen bushes looking for any signs of animals (something alive, weird thing to do), robbery or visits from pirates, she found Olaf singing in the garden's centre.

After performing the proper greeting and exchanging meaningless words, the captain had to explain a disappointed Olaf why she had chosen her clothing by herself... and her dignity began cracking.

"You want to act like a pirate, Captain?"

"I'm afraid so, Olaf. Those are my intentions."

A small pause and both of them fidgeted.

"And you want my help."

Another pause, this time with a cough from the young woman. She seemed uncomfortable.

"Well, I _need_ it, if you must."

Olaf blinked rapidly, quite confused. The kid wasn't used to the sudden changes of mood of Elsa, something that Marcello had warned him from the very beginning.

"I'll help you, captain, of course." he smiled, doubtful, and Elsa set free a relieved sigh. Maybe things would work if he didn't ask too much about whatever was going through her mind, and just go with the flow. Okay, so the pirate ruler desired to act, well, like a pirate. Tapping his feet distractedly, he considered all the problems that the young woman was going to have. "Firstly, if you want to act like a pirate, your perfume is way too strong."

"Beg your pardon?" Elsa raised an eyebrow, tilting her head to the side.

"Pirates smell, captain. Not every ship has its' own showers like we do..."

"They don't?" the platinum blonde parted her lips, surprised, before shaking her head, exhausted. "That doesn't matter. I want to act like a pirate, not smell like one."

"That's pretty much the same thing, right? Well, not important. You have the looks, at least... but, maybe we could buy a new hat for you, like the one that Weasel stole, the big one. Those are fancy; give this kinda bad guy vibe. But you don't that bad guy vibe... right." Olaf laughed, looking around like he needed someone to save him, when an interesting idea hit his head.  
They were walking in the front gardens now, and as soon as they got to a puddle, the white haired kid grabbed a handful of mud.

"What are y-" the captain was quickly cut off when Olaf threw dirt over her clothing. Oh no, no, no, no. Her shirt was ruined; stains of mud over her chest and shoulders, and even some filth had landed over her head. "**Olaf!**"

"Pirates will laugh if they see someone so immaculate, captain." the kid smiled, and when he turned around Elsa threw a ball of mud right to his back.

The kid yelped, losing balance and falling in a pool of cold dirt. Astonished, he looked up, were the captain stood nonchalantly. A grin appeared on both of their faces.

Meanwhile, Marcello had already told everyone what they had to do while they were out; buy chocolate, rum, candles, clean up the castle, make the beds and of course, fix the little barquentine. With some luck, it would be as fine as before when they decided to leave.

The tall man walked down the massive ship with a small smile, walking slowly across the gardens, a hand over the handgrip of his sword. After quietly scrutinizing the outside part of the palace, he entered the stronghold. Solitary corridors, walls and pillars made of ice greeted him. Marcello always thought they were more welcoming than most people did.

His steps sounded like soft rings across the enormous construction, and he heard voices coming from the east wing. Unsheathing his sword, the strong pirate sprinted were the noise came.

He found himself dumbfounded for the second time in the day; Olaf and Elsa were covered in mud, running in the garden outside. Scratching his neck, he slipped through the window and fell outside, as graciously as someone so big could manage.

They didn't notice him at first, so he settled between some flower bushes, observing the unique moment that the pair shared. Marcello had never in his whole life seen Elsa laughing out loud. She was chasing the young boy and throwing balls of mud to him, hardly dodging any wet dirt that he threw at her. Olaf was having a great time, too.

But the captain seemed... joyful. Younger.

This vacation was definitely a good idea. Unless she found something to worry about, and gods, he wasn't going to let that happen, even if it meant that he had to stay up all night to solve every problem that her small town had. Elsa deserved to be happy. And if she was happy, her crew was going to be too.

After contemplating the pair playing for solid five minutes, they settled down, their tummies aching and their breaths uneven.

"How long are you going to hide there, Marce?"

The quartermaster got up fast as lightning, but there was no one to be seen. Raising a thick eyebrow, he walked out of the bushes... and a huge ball of mud hit him right in the face.

"Motherf-"

In a second, he was completely covered in dirt. With a remotely unstained hand, he cleaned his eyes. The pair was running away.

Elsa had her hair down, locks dirty and with branches trapped beneath, her clothing an utter mess and slimy with mud, almost the same thing happening with Olaf, his vest completely covered in dirt, just like the kid's hands. Marcello wrinkled his nose.

Then... vacations worked like that? He wasn't against it, at all. Indeed, it seemed nice.

Grabbing a handful of slush beneath him, he chased them, willing to take revenge. The trio didn't even notice that they were out of the castle now, running across the wilderness, until they got to the town.

Elsa was the first to stop, the laugh dying in her lips. Wow. Everything had changed with the years. Houses were taller, trees too, and new, modern constructions had replaced the once humble cottages. They even had a fountain.

The captain, unexpectedly, found herself pleased. Most of the population was inside their warm houses, having dinner. Some kids played outside, almost as dirty and soaked as them. A thin layer of snow covered everything, but it was going to melt soon, they had arrived to their destination after all.

Even though it was cold, like, really cold, every shop in the town had its doors fully open. Olaf and Marcello knew almost every person that lived there, and waved silently at the families inside their homes, and also the few pirates that were shopping groceries and stuff.

A group of young boys came to greet Olaf, and the same thing happened with the quartermaster, only they were scary, big pirates.

Elsa just silently watched as they chatted with their close friends and acquaintances. Some of them nodded softly when they made eye contact, others not even looked at her. She was having so much fun, though.

After the crowd left, the captain sighed contently.

"So, this is how my city looks like." she muttered, a soft smile curving her lips.

The pirates hadn't even seemed intimidating. This was going to be easier than what she had initially thought.

"Ye look like a pirate, Capn'..." Marcello acknowledged, scratching the back of his neck with a huge hand.

Even though Elsa had always dressed properly, ragged and used clothing (clean, though), no one actually thought that she was a pirate, always too regal, too stiff... too royal. But in that moment, she could have been perfectly mistaken for a young cabin girl.

"I am a pirate, Marcello." Elsa stated, receiving shocked stares from her companions before continuing. "And please, address me as Elsa while we are here."

"Understood." the older pirate furrowed his brows, nervous. The name had always sounded wrong in his mouth. He wasn't going to use it.

"So... what do you want to do, Elsa?" questioned Olaf, fixing his bowtie. He spun around with his arms extended. After so much time in a boat, you loved every second you were on land. "We can do anything!"

"Let's go to a tavern."

"What?"

"I would like to visit a tavern... for captain's duties."

"It's lunch time, Elsa." Olaf shook his head negatively. "And you said that if any pirate sold alcohol here, he was goi-"

"Th' captain said she want to go to the tavern." growled Marcello, pushing Olaf aside. "So we'll go to the tavern, period."

The kid looked up at Elsa, he needed further explanations, but the young woman had such a dark blush that he chose to bite his tongue and follow the taller pirate, that apparently knew where they were heading. After silently walking down street for a while, they got to what seemed like a broken construction.

Elsa and Olaf would have probably walked away if it wasn't for the soft music that got to their ears. Marcello grabbed them both by the shoulders and pushed them inside the cracked door, even though initially Elsa seemed reluctant. The music once soft intensified, the messy lyrics .

"The tavern's back thar." the tall pirate pointed with his head to the hall, which seemed broken and unused, as they continued walking. The trio got to a heavy door that led to a small garden. Across it, there was a small, active cottage, replete with people, musicians, and (the aroma reached Elsa's nostrils) rum. Marcello grabbed apprehensively his sword. "Don't drink anything Jafar offers and you better don't get too far."

Elsa nodded stiffly. Her elbows were nearly touching her ears, and all the colour in her cheeks had faded. Olaf gave the captain a small pat in the back, feeling tremors running up the girl's spine.

This was it, her first step towards forgetting her past.


End file.
